Straight bar knitting machine



1943- G. WILDERS ETAL 2,331,447

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE I F iled March 13, 1942 -2 Sheet s-Sh e'k.1

//w//v70/?s GEORGE WILDERS ANb WILLIAM G. MACDONALD Patented Oct. 12,1943 Macdonald, Loughborough, England, assignors to William CottonLimited, Loughborough,

England Application March 13, 1942,- Serial No.434,606

In' Great Britain January 22, 1941 3 (llairhs. (Cl. 66 -109) Thisinvention isfor improvements in or relating to straight bar knittingmachines and is concerned with Cottons patent and other straight barknittin machines of the type wherein a knocking-over bar has movementsin the direction of the length of the needles imparted to it by onemechanism and movements transversely of the line of needles imparted toit by another mechanism. In such machines it has heretofore been thepractice to incorporate in the second mechanism rocking levers whichextend in the general direction of the length of the needles and attheir free upper ends are each provided with a slot in which a pin onthe knocking-over bar works. These pin-and-slot connections thereforeserve to transmit the secondkind of movements to the knocking-over barand also permit the latter to partake of the first kind of movements. Ithas the disadvantage, however, that it is difiicult to provide a workingfit between the pin and the slot which is free from play when themachine is new, and that it is impossible to prevent play developingduring the working life of the machine. This play, which in turn resultsin a certain play in the knocking-over bar, has serious consequences inthe actual fabric produced, but also renders it very difiicult toincorporate a satisfactory automatic welt turning apparatus in themachine. An object of this invention is to provide an arrangementwhereby such play is obviated.

To this end the present invention provides a straight bar knittingmachine of the type specified, characterised in that one of themechanisms comprises at least one driving member which is movable in theappropriate direction, and a connection between said driving member andthe knocking-over bar which connection consists of a link pivoted to thebar or to a part associated therewith and to the said member. It willtherefore be appreciated that the swinging movement of this link aboutits pivots permits the knockingover bar to partake of the two kinds ofmovements before referred to, and that it is readily possible toconstruct the pivots for the links (e. g. in the form of cylindricalpivot pins received in suitable cylindrical bores) with an adequate areaof bearing surface and without initial play or looseness and withoutundue liability to the development of such play during the working lifeof the machine. Preferably, the link is incorporated in the second saidmechanism and the driving member is movable transversely of the line ofthe needles.

The foregoing and other features of the invention set out in theappended claims are incorporated in the construction now to be describedin detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which 7 IFigure 1 is a front eievation of one end of the knocking-over bar andthe operating mechanism thereat;

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation thereof;

Figure 3 is a section through the line aforesaid, while Figure 4 is asimilar view but shows a small modification. I r

In the illustrated construction, applied to a Cottons patent knittingmachine, only those'parts of the machine that are relevant to thepresentinvention are shown, the other parts being well understood'in theart. The line of needles is indicated at N and the knocking-over bar It,(or each of them in the case of a multi-division machine) equipped withknocking-over bits H, is

supported at the upper ends of at least two substantially vertical armsone of which is shown at l2 and which at their lower ends are pivoted onshort arms or lugs l3 projecting substantially horizontally forward froma horizontal rock shaft ll. The foregoing constitutes the firstmechanism aforesaid and it will be appreciated that as the rock shaft 14is rocked the knocking-over bar IE] is raised and lowered. The secondmechanism aforesaid comprises a second horizontal rock shaft I5,slightly above and to the front of the first rock shaft M, on whichsecond shaft l5 an upwardly projecting lever It (the driving memberaforesaid) is secured at each end of the knocking-over bar. The meanswhereby these rock shafts Hi, and I5, are rocked is well understood inthe art and needs no illustration herein. In a suitable horizontal borei1 formed in a member l8 projecting from each end of the knocking-overbar It! or from the associated arm I2 a pivot pin IQ, projecting from ashort link 29 is rotatably received. The other end of each link 28 ispierced with a horizontal cylindrical bore 2| rotatably receiving acylindrical pivot pin 22 projecting horizontally from the arm I6, thecentral line of the link being substantially horizontal. The link 2t maytherefore be regarded as a crank or eccentric. The pins 19, 22, are agood working fit in their bores, and their diameter is sufiicient toprovide an adequate area of bearing surface.

Preferably each pivot pin 22 second-mentioned is adjustable horizontallyin a direction laterally of its axis. 22 has a shank 23 which is securedin a horizontal slot 24 in the top of arm It. An adjustment To this endeach said pin screw 25 extends through the arm 16, in the direction ofthe length of the slot 24, to bear on the pin shank 23. The said shank23 has flats 23' on its periphery to engage the sides of the slot 24,thereby preventing the pin from turning, and is provided at its end witha nut 26 whereby a collar 21, formed on the pin between the cylindricalportion thereof and the shank, is drawn against the outer face of thearm I6. Thereby the pin may be clamped in any position, in the length ofthe slot 24, to which it has been adjusted by the adjustment screw 25.In the modification shown in Fig. 4, the slot 24, in which the shank 23is clamped, is formed in the member, l8 while the pivot pin I9 isrotatably received in bore [1 at the top of arm I6. Vertical adjustmentof the arms l2, and a means whereby adjustment for parallelism betweenthe knocking-over bits and the line of.

sinkers may be achieved, is provided by a vertical slot 21, in eachshort arm or lug I3, receiving the pivot 28 of the associated verticalarm 12, and by an adjustment screw 29 and lock nut 30.

We claim:

' 1. In a knitting machine of the Cotton type, having a line of verticalneedles and a knockingover bar carrying knocking-over bits; a rockshaftbelow said bar having arms extending horizontally therefrom; upwardlyextending supsecond rock-shaft for movement transversely of the line ofneedles; a connecting link extending between each of said bar-supportingmembers and the upper end of one of said levers; and pivotal connectionsbetween said levers and links, and between said links and supportingmembers, each of said connections comprising a cylindrical bore formedin one of the elements and a cylindrical pin carried by the companionelement and journaled in said bore.

2. In a Cottons patent knitting machine having a line of verticalneedles, a knocking-over bar and knocking-over bits carried thereby: arock-shaft provided with a rocker-arm; a member connecting saidrocker-arm and knockingover bar, for transmitting motion from said armto the bar in a direction substantially longitudinal of the needles; asecond rock-shaft, provided with a lever member; and a link having apivot pin at one end and a cylindrical journal at the other, one of saidmembers having a pivot pin engaging said link journal and the other ofsaid members having a cylindrical journal receiving said link pin, thusproviding pivotal connections between the link and each of saidmembers'whereby the link may transmit motion from the second rock-shaftand its lever member to said first member to move the knocking-over barin a direction substantially transverse of the needles whileaccommodating the aforesaid movement of the bar in the longitudinaldirection.

3. vA combination according to claim 2, wherein the member carrying apivot pin is provided with a slot in which said pin is mounted; andmeans for firmly securing the pin in any desired position in said slot.

GEORGE WILDERS. WIILIAMI GORDON MACDONALD.

